AB-2090: Guardianships: special immigrant juvenile status

Federal law allows a person age 21 or younger to apply for Legal Permanent Residency if they are granted SIJS. A person cannot apply to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for SIJS without a state court order confirming certain findings. The USCIS uses these findings to determine the person’s eligibility for this Special Immigrant Visa category.

This bill addresses an ambiguity in state law to assist youth between the ages of 18 and 21 in obtaining Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) for immigration relief.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, California (AAP-CA), representing over 5,000 California pediatricians, supports proposed legislation AB 2090 (Gonzalez Fletcher), which would clarify that the parent of an unmarried person between 18 and 21 years of age is among the people qualified to file a petition for guardianship on the youth’s behalf.

The Immigration and Nationality Act, a federal law, establishes that undocumented immigrants who are below the age of 21, are unmarried and have been declared dependents on a juvenile court due to abuse, neglect or abandonment are eligible to petition for an adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident. Those who qualify and are 18, 19, or 20 years old may file a petition for guardianship so as to complete the proceedings to attain special immigrant juvenile status. Others, “a relative, or any other person” according to current law, may also file this petition on behalf of the proposed ward.

AB 2090 (Gonzalez Fletcher) would clarify the language so that it would read “a parent, a relative, or any other person” so that there would be no confusion about who could submit the application on behalf of the proposed word, thus making sure that qualifying undocumented youth have as many options as possible as they navigate their way through this legal process.

Pediatrician members of AAP California Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 statewide strongly support proposed legislation AB 2090 (Gonzalez Fletcher) and urges an AYE vote. Thank you for your public service and leadership on behalf of the health and wellbeing of children, youth, and families in California.

Latest Tweets from Kris Calvin, CEO

The information presented on this web site is not intended to replace the medical care and advice of your own pediatrician. Individual pediatricians may vary their treatments based on particular facts and circumstances in each case. View our privacy policy.